Within These Walls
by LissLove
Summary: Alice sets Bella up with a perfect stranger during lunch. But he has built a huge wall around himself, in which he pulls back when things get too personal. Will Bella find out herself or will the secret blow up in her face? AH
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone. Thank you for stopping by and giving me a chance. I really hope you'll enjoy. This is my very first story and English is not my first language, so if you see any grammar or spelling mistakes, please tell me! I have no beta, so if you feel like you could do something for this story, send me a PM or something :)**

**I try to give every chapter a fitting song, generally from Dutch artists, for y'all to get to know some of our great singers ;)**

**Of course, none of this is mine, it all belongs to Miss Meyer, I only own a huge pile of Med books ;)**

**Please, enjoy! **

**Love, Liss**

_You hide your heart in the shadows  
So afraid to open up to anyone  
But I can see your faded halo  
And I can make it burn again, like the sun_

___VanVelzen and Armi__n van Buuren – Broken Tonight_

~WTW~

I was sure I left it on my desk. I lifted a few clothes, but the only things underneath were papers. It couldn't be gone. I left it there only minutes ago. I groaned softly. That phone could not be far. It's not as if gnomes that stole mobile phones existed.

"Alice?" I called, hoping she would be in her room. I didn't actually know if she was at home. Alice was my roommate, also in her junior year in college. We met when we both moved in and she had immediately decided we would be friends. I wasn't going to complain, I did not know a soul in Phoenix, except the kids I went to kindergarten with. I doubted I would recognise them. I had lived with Renee, my mother, the years after my parents' divorce here in Phoenix. It hadn't lasted very long though, as Renee realised she was not really cut out to be a mom and brought me back to Charlie. She now lived with Phil, a minor league baseball player, in Jacksonville, Florida.

"Yes?" she replied. My door flew open and Alice was in the doorway. The small pixie-like girl with black short hair was a striking appearance. She might be petite, but you couldn't miss her. You just knew when she was in the room. Not only for her looks, but her behaviour made everyone back up. She was hyperactive and made you smile. I didn't know how she did it, but when she was around no one fought. I had noticed it first-hand. Always-bitching-next-door-Lauren was a tad bit nicer than she usually was, when Alice' happy gulf waved over her. I had been first to move in and meet Lauren, which had put me in doubt to whether I would survive college. Not a nice word had come out. When she met Alice the day after, Lauren had complimented me on my skinny jeans. I'm still wondering where it came from.

"What's up?"

"Do you know where my cell phone is?"

"It's right there…" Alice answered and pointed to a place on the windowsill just behind the curtains. Indeed, there was the mobile telephone. I sighed. I really should try to get less messy. Since the day I moved in, it had been untidy. It hadn't changed in the two years after. My habit to drop everything at the first place I could, was starting to turn against me.

"Thank you. You're my saviour!" I smiled at Alice, who grinned. Her laugh sounded clear through the room.

"You're welcome. By the way, I was going to ask you anyway, but do you want to have lunch together today? There's this really nice new place I came across!" Alice rattled and I couldn't hide the smile that came up. Alice and talking. A never-ending relationship.

"Sure," I said. The first weeks of the new year had been so busy that we hadn't really had time to get together. Now that everything had calmed down, it was time for us to catch up.

"Great!" Alice said enthusiastically. She hopped out of the room, leaving the door open. I took my books and put them in a bag. Ready to go.

~WTW~

Alice was waiting for me when I left my class.

"Hi, how are you?" I greeted her. While we left the building, I looked for my sunglasses, as the sun had come out and warmed my skin. After living with my father in Forks, Washington – where clouds packed the sky for most days of the year – I had really started to appreciate sunlight.

"I'm good, thanks. You?"

"I'm okay. The sun's shining! I can't not be happy."

Alice chuckled and led the way to the place she was so excited about. Just off-campus there was a petite restaurant with lots of flowers on the windowsills. The colours shone in the sunlight and made the place even more attractive than it already was. It just sparkled of hospitality. I wondered how I could have missed that before, but remembered that Alice said it was a new place.

"That looks so cute," I breathed, too excited to say anything else.

"I know, right?" Alice pulled my arm and took me with her, making her way across the street without being run over.

When we entered the restaurant, there was more light than I thought there'd be. The windows seemed small from the outside, but the room was filled with the sunlight I adored. I was wondering if some fairy spoke a charm over this place. I had no idea with the food was any good, but I'd definitely enjoy the surroundings.

We sat down at the only table available. The place was loaded, but still rustique. Something about this place, made you feel the urge to whisper and be quiet.

"Choose whatever you like, I'll pay," Alice said. "And don't make me notice you're just picking what's cheapest!" Her threat came with a smile, but I knew she'd make me get something else if I did. Looking at the menu, I saw I'd have trouble choosing anyway, there was plenty choice.

When I finally decided after a lot of deliberating, I closed the booklet. Alice had put her menu down a long while ago and was patiently watching the other people in the restaurant.

She caught the attention of a server walking by and we ordered our meals. The girl wrote it down on a small note pad and asked if we wanted anything to drink.

"Yes sure," Alice said and looked at me to answer.

"Green tea, please."

"A latte." Alice demanded and the girl left after writing it down.

"That guy there," Alice bobbed her head to the left, without making it too obvious that she was looking. "He's really hot!" I glared at the left and saw this beautiful man sitting alone two tables away. My mouth almost flew open. His bronze hair, the green eyes, his face, everything seemed perfect. He was just gorgeous, there was simply no other way to put it. He was like some Greek god who descended from mount Olympus.

"Don't look like that, he'll notice!" whispered Alice and she kicked against my leg. A pain flash rolled through my shin.

"Ow, that hurt!" I muttered.

"Well don't make it so obvious!" she hissed and peeked at the guy again. "If I were not seeing anyone I would totally go for him!"

I rolled my eyes at her. My experience with a person of the other sex was limited to Charlie, my father and I couldn't really figure him out. Maybe that had to do with the fact that Charlie only watched sports, drank beer, went fishing and worked. The other experience I had was not good and I didn't wish for it to recur. Alice had tried to play matchmaker, but I had always purposefully avoided her blind-dates and set-ups.

"Isn't he something for you?" she asked with this smile I didn't trust. She was up to no good. _What did I just tell you?_

"He's handsome, but I doubt he'd be interested. He won't even look at me. No way I'm talking to him!" I said making sure Alice heard every word. She was not going to do some matchmaking again. "So? Who are you seeing? Spill the beans!" I asked, trying desperately to distract her.

But Alice only smiled and got up.

"I'll be right back," she said and walked in the direction of the cute guy. I wanted to protest, but she was gone before I could make a sound. I shot an angry gaze at her hoping she would see it, but she didn't and just went on with her expedition. She had arrived at the table of the most handsome creature that walked the surface of planet earth.

Alice said something. He looked up and answered her, watching Alice curious. She said something else. He looked around and caught my eye. I felt my legs turn into jelly. His green gaze attacked me like a slap in the face. Then he told Alice something. He got up and together with Alice, he came to the table Alice and I had been sharing a minute ago. I gasped and was even angrier at Alice then I already had been. She was not doing this to me. I would be dying of embarrassment. I didn't know how to behave around most people, let alone this drop-dead-gorgeous guy and I really hoped Alice was not expecting me to flirt, because I was completely sure I was not capable of that.

"Bells," Alice almost shrieked enthusiastically. "This is Edward and I thought, let's invite him, because he's all on his own."

The man, who apparently had the name Edward, smiled apologizing. Alice took the vacant chair that had been at our table and pushed Edward down on it. I rolled my eyes. Alice was taking this way too far. Was there any possibility to stop her?

"Well, so I'm Edward. Nice to meet you." He shook my hand.

"Bella Swan," I said, but my voice broke halfway. I flushed and looked down. This was going to be awful.

"Where are you from Edward? I hear a British accent, but there's this Mediterranean – Italian or something? – hint in your English." Alice was going to be the one to make conversation, I'll just try to sit on the side line and wait for this to be over.

"From Europe, a little island in the Mediterranean Sea." Edward seemed a little uncomfortable with this question, reluctant to reply. He recovered soon enough though and turned the roles around, making him the one to ask the questions.

"And what are you two beautiful ladies doing here?" Of course he was only talking about Alice.

"We're having lunch," Alice deadpanned. I sniggered.

"No kidding. What do you do when you're not having lunch? Jobs, college?"

"Bella is a pre-med and I major in fashion."

"Interesting." Edward looked at me. It seemed like he looked right through me. I felt weak. This man had a huge impact on me and he seemed to know it, because he smiled at me in this lovely crooked way.

"I'm going to the toilet, Bells, Edward, I'll be back in a sec." Alice rose and was gone before I realised she was going to leave. This was the first and the last time I was ever going to lunch with her. She totally blew it. My throat got dry by the idea that I was now alone with this very handsome man.

"How do you survive her?" Edward grinned.

"I have no idea," I sighed. "She's my roommate since freshman year, so I have developed a coping method since." I sighed. "It's not that bad though, she pulls me out of my shell."

He cocked an eyebrow and looked at me curiously.

"I don't understand."

"I'm not really a talkative person." I felt the heat coming to my cheeks. "And as you probably noticed, she is."

"And what made you decide to talk to her, besides that she is your roommate?"

"I didn't. It just happened. She has this influence, you know."

He watched me elaborately. I didn't know what he was thinking, but he was probably wondering who the hell he was talking to.

"And you're talking to me." It was not a question, just stating the fact.

I nodded, not having a slightest idea what to respond to that.

"Hello buddies, back again." I didn't have to look to see who that was. At the same moment the waitress came to our table with our lunch. Her eyes widened when she saw Edward sitting with us. She put the plates and glasses on the table.

"Can I get you something, Sir?"

"A minute ago I was on that table," Edward pointed. "Could I get what I ordered?"

"Sure." And with a – was it flirting? – smile, she left. Of course it would be flirting. The boy was gorgeous enough for it. I shook my head and tried to erase all the odd feelings rushing through me. Was that jealousy? _Shut it Bella, he's not even close to being a person who is legitimate to jealousy._

"You want to have a part of my sandwich?" I offered, watching Edward from under my eyelashes.

"No, I'll be fine. My lunch will be arriving in a sec, at least, I hope. Just eat yours!" He seemed to be quite certain of it, so I took a knife and began slicing the bread.

It now came to me that Alice had been quiet for probably the longest time in her existence. I gave her a suspicious look, but she was only focussing on her mozzarella with a grin on her face. I didn't trust her.

"And what are you doing here Edward?" I asked, hoping to stop the silence, because it began to feel awkward.

"I'm just getting away, to see the world." He answered shortly and scowled. I frowned, he was not telling the whole truth, I knew it. I decided to just go along with his story and hear him out.

"So you're just staying in a hotel or something?"

"No, an apartment that my parents own."

He must be loaded. I took a look at his clothes, they looked expensive. It was not that I had ever experienced money problems, but Charlie or Renee hadn't been wealthy. I started to feel a little out of place, as I knew Alice came from an upper-class family too.

Alice looked at the tiny silver watch around her pulse and acted shocked.

"Oh fuck, I have to leave!" she shrieked and collected her bag. She rummaged in her bag and threw some bills on the table. "It was good to meet you Edward, I really hope to see you again!" And she was gone. She seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

"She was working on this the whole time, right?" Edward asked and stared at the place Alice had still been sitting half a minute ago.

"Probably," I nodded, still flabbergasted and agreed with myself to do some serious talking with Alice later today.

"Do you mind if I claim you for the afternoon? I want to get to know you better." Edward said, fetching this dazzling smile again. I could only nod and let out a raspy "Yes".

At that moment the waitress came by our table again and placed a salad in front of Edward. "Can I help you with anything else?"

"No, we're fine." Edward answered, as I was still struggling to get my voice back. I swallowed a couple of times and felt my throat relax.

I had already finished my sandwich and watched him eat. His features were graceful, elegant and just stunning. I was looking for an error, something that looked out of place. Just to prove to me that he was real and not some kind of fantasy. I pinched my leg. It hurt. What made me actually think I could come up with a man so handsome? There was no way my imagination was _that_ good.

"Is it fascinating?" Damnit – he caught me staring. The amused look on his face made me blush even more. How could I react to this?

"Well, yes, but I guess you hear that everyday…" I said softly.

He frowned and asked for explanation.

"Have you looked in a mirror? It must have gotten to you that women might be attracted to you… I don't know if you saw the waitress trying to seduce you?"

"So you think I'm attractive?" He was still amused.

"I don't think you could find a woman on this planet that doesn't find you attractive." I looked down at my plate, afraid to look him in the eye.

He lifted my chin with his finger and made me look him in the eyes. The place where our skins touched was now burning. The bright green of his eyes almost blinded me. I was distracted by all this physical violence that I was scared stiff when he started talking.

"Bella, you shouldn't worry so much. I hear it often, but I would like it very much coming from you."

"What are you trying to accomplish?" I tried to flirt and knew it was a bad attempt.

"That you say straight forward that you find me attractive." His eyes did this thing I didn't understand. What I did understand was that I was going to give in, I felt it. He dazzled me.

"I think you're attractive." I said and flushed again. Was there a way to make it stop? He probably thought I was crimson permanently.

"Why, thank you," he said smiling.

"You're welcome," I muttered and decided to watch my plate once again.

He continued eating and a few minutes later he put down his cutlery.

"Shall we?" I gave a quick nod and then wondered where we were going. I hand no idea what he had planned for the afternoon.

We both looked at the money Alice left on the table. "It's more than enough to pay for our lunch, but I feel so guilty if we let her pay…" I mumbled, not sure what to do.

"We'll just pay her back when we see her again." Edward suggested. That seemed like a good idea to me, so we got up and left.

~WTW~

**Please let me know what you think! You can also find me on twitter LissFF for updates on the story, teasers etc etc. I also have an account which I normally use. This however is mostly in Dutch and contains all my nonsense in life and irritations about everything and nothing ;) You can find me there at LissLove0**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone. **

**Thanks you all for putting this story on alert or favouriting! Also, welcome to all those who happened upon this little story via Fictionators, where I posted a teaser for this chapter. I hope to do that every week. I hope to update every weekend and post a teaser on the monday after. ****But, my classes start again tuesday, but I'm going to try and keep this up!**

**Again, SM owns! I do own a guitar, which I just got for my birthday. I'm practising so hard that the blisters start to form on my fingers ;)**

**Love, Liss**

**Chapter 2.**

_Girl girl girl_  
_When I hear him talk_  
_Ooh my mind gets blocked girl _

_Anouk - Girl_

When we stepped outside the sun almost blinded us and I searched for my sunglasses again. When I looked up from my bag Edward had aviator sunglasses on his nose. I swooned. He looked really hot. Don't think about it, I reprimanded myself. You're not even close to being pretty enough for him.

"So, where will you be taking me? You claimed me, remember?"

"I'm taking you to my favourite place of this city," he said mysteriously and took my hand. The skin-to-skin contact thrilled me. My hairs stood right up and something hot sparked through my nerves. Oh no, this simply could not be healthy. I breathed in slowly and back out to calm myself.

It didn't work.

He led the way, while I just followed. After a few left and right turns, I had completely lost track of direction. I thought I had gotten to know the city centre quite good in the years I lived here, but apparently I was mistaken. It could have something to do with the fact that we had left the actual centre and entered a neighbourhood where I could not afford to buy a dustbin, let alone an apartment. When we got to a huge flat, almost skyscraper like, he stopped.

"What is so good about this?" I asked frowning. I could not really see anything special to this modern, covered with glass, building. Obviously, the architect had delivered a masterpiece, but I couldn't imagine this being Edward's favourite place.

"You'll see," he said smirking. I scowled, even more curious than before.

We went in and entered a lobby. The doorman nodded politely. Our footsteps resounded on the marble floor, as Edward led me directly to the elevator. I just followed considering the fact he still held my hand tightly, but already knew this was not going to be pleasant. I had never been BFFs with elevators. He pushed the top button and the doors closed. The elevator almost flew up. My stomach turned around and I felt nausea coming up.

"Not good…" I muttered and held on to the rail along the walls, desperately trying not to throw up in this very posh place.

"Are you okay?" he asked concerned.

"Yes, I'm just not that big a fan of elevators." He grinned a bit hesitantly. Then the elevator luckily stopped and the doors opened again. Fresh wind blew in our faces and that immediately ended the sickness.

We were on top of the building, which happened to have the most beautiful roof terrace I had ever seen. Not that I had seen a lot of roof terraces, apart from the television. We got out of the elevator and I could not believe my eyes. The fashionable couches and love seats, the coloured parasols, the plants, this place is beautiful. There was even a small swimming pool. That was until I saw the view onto the city. The roof was one of the highest place of the city, which made it possible to have a 360 view over Phoenix.

"Wow Edward, this is just…" I breathed. "I don't have words for it…"

"I knew you'd like it."

"I love it." He grinned and led me to one of the couches. I kicked my shoes of so I could nuzzle myself comfortably between the white pillows and Edward came to sit just a few centimetres away. I could feel his body heat radiate on my thigh.

"Where do you actually come from? You said Europe, but where exactly?"

"You Americans always see Europe as one country," Edward teased. I gave him a push, but he just chuckled. "No, I'm from an island between Italy and Croatia in the Adriatic Sea called Solcelia, I doubt you have ever heard of it. It's an independent state though it's highly unknown to people outside of Europe." He seemed a little hesitant to tell me and I wondered what he was hiding. His answers to personal questions were too well thought-out and unspontaneous. It was as if a wall pulled up around him whenever I asked him something personal. I wanted to knock the wall down and really get to him instead of watching from a distance.

"Seems like a wonderful place. Sunny I guess?"

"Yeah, lots of sun, it's a beautiful island."

"If I once have a lot of money – not that that's ever gonna happen – I'll visit." He didn't answer, making me regret what I said. Apparently he didn't really want me to come.

"Where do you come from? Are you from Phoenix?"

"Well, I lived here with my mom for some time when I was younger, but when I was 9 I started to live with my dad in Forks, Washington." I was going to be very open to him, maybe that would encourage him to open up. "My mom was never a real mother, too much a youngster in her mind and soul. And then she remarried to a baseball player, who had to relocate to Jacksonville. My mother decided it would be best that I went to live with my father. And now I ended up with Alice sharing a room. It could've been worse…"

"Do you have brothers or sisters?"

"Nope." I popped the P. "Renee and Charlie divorced when I was just a few months old, Renee remarried when I was nine. Charlie is wed to his job and fishing." I smiled with the thought. "And you?"

"My parents are Carlisle and Esme. They're great. I have a younger brother, Emmett." Again his answer was short. I was really about to order a bulldozer to break the wall down. I looked down, but glanced at him from the corners of my eye. He was watching me. Naturally I felt my face become red. I really needed a way to stop that. Was there some way to put a blockade in the capillaries of my cheeks, because if there is, I'm in!

"How do you know this place? It's so pretty!" I got up and walked around to take a look over the city. Though you could still see the busy city a hundred meters down, you could not really hear it. Just the buzz of the traffic and the wind, making the parasols creak.

He had followed me but I didn't notice. I jumped when I felt his breath in my neck, but relaxed when his hands touched my shoulders.

"The apartment I told you about? It's down here." He said silently.

"You have… what?" Man, he must be really loaded! There's a difference between just an apartment and an apartment in a building like this

"Somewhere in this building or directly…"

"Directly down here," Edward said, finishing my sentence. He seemed to be holding back again.

"It's not something to be ashamed of or something. Some people just get lucky in the wealth department." I tried to smile, but failed.

"I'm sure you're not that poor." Edward tried to soothe me. "And I'm not too rich either… well, maybe a little." I grinned and turned around to face him. Before I realised what I was doing, I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"You can tell me anything, you know that right? I can keep a secret, because I know you're holding something back."

He looked caught, but got his face straight in only a second time.

"There's nothing, but I'll tell you if there is." He put his hands on my shoulders again. "Now, do you want to enjoy the view a little more or do you want to see the infamous apartment?"

"If you promise we'll come back here sometime, I will come with you now."

"That seems like a good deal." I kept my arm around his waist while we walked to the lift again. He felt a little tensed, but when I caressed him softly I felt the contraction disappear.

"It's not that far with the elevator this time," he whispered in my ear. I chuckled. "You're really only one floor down?"

He just nodded when the doors opened. The elevator ride was a lot better than when we went up. It probably was just because it was only a fraction of the time going up. As we got out of the elevator, we entered a small light hallway. On both ends there was a door and opposite the whole wall was covered with glass, again we had a wide view over the city. Edward pointed to the door on the left end of the corridor and began walking to it. I followed, but couldn't keep my eyes from the panorama just outside the window. His door flew open before we reached it and I frowned. A man in a black suit almost stood at attention holding the door open. He had personnel? You've got to be kidding me.

"Thank you, James," Edward said to the black-suit-man. He walked straight through the entrance hall to a door opposite and led me in the most fantastic living room I'd ever seen. It was white, it was huge, it was light, it was indescribable. I felt the soft deep rug through my sandals. The opposite wall was – again – totally made out of glass. The walls were white, the large leather couch was black and everywhere I looked I saw high-tech devices. The television screen could function for a cinema and boxes for the sound system seemed to be in all corners. Oh man, I want to watch a film here! On my left side was a kitchen almost completely white apart from the sink that was pitch black. But the most prominent of the whole living with kitchen was the black grand piano in front of the big windows. The sunlight was reflected by its shiny surface.

Edward had been watching me intently while I took up the room. He seemed scared what I might think of it.

"I love it, Edward," I said, telling him the truth. Then the image of my room at Alice and my place flashed before my eyes. The contrast couldn't be bigger. The grey walls, that we were not allowed to paint; the doors, that almost out hung out of their hinges; the paint on the window frames, that blistered off; the mess, that was mostly made by me; and of course the mildew on the walls of the bathroom due to all the moisture in the past twenty years or so. Here the walls were white and clean; the doors were straight; the paint seemed to be put on yesterday; it was not messy at all – though he might have people for that!; and I doubted that there was any kind of unwanted living organisms in this house.

My face must have shown my (almost) shame, because Edward came to me looking concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. I am just a bit overwhelmed by all of this…"

Edward looked sort of hurt. I didn't want him to feel bad, which I found a rather odd feeling. I walked over to him and put my hand on his arm. "I was just comparing my place with this and found some striking differences. Nothing to worry about." I felt him relax and smiled.

"Are those your parents?" I pointed to a set of photo frames on a drawer beneath the huge flat screen. I made my way across the room and picked up a photo in a white frame. On the picture was Edward sitting on a huge rock, wearing casual clothes. Next to him was a huge guy with short brown curly hair, who I presumed was Emmett. He looked intimidating. In front of them, standing on the ground were who I thought were his parents. His father was a real gentleman with blonde hair. He just projected everything a good dad had to have. He was arm in arm with the kindest woman that I had ever seen. Edward's mother had brown hair and although she looked to the camera, she beamed with love for her family. I wished I had such family. They seemed to fit so well.

"They look perfect," I whispered. "Is this on Solcelia? It's a pretty sight."

"Yes, this is near my place in the woods when we went hiking. My family is everything to me."

"You must miss them."

"I do, but being with a beautiful girl makes the sky a little clearer."

"You can't be talking about me, is there someone hidden in the closet?" I tried to make a joke, but I heard my voice break.

"You don't see yourself clearly, do you? You're the prettiest girl I ever met." Edward stood directly behind me and turned me around.

"All day, I've been wanting to…" He didn't finish his sentence, because suddenly his lips brushed mine. First my complete body froze as Eric flashed through my eyes. But then I saw Edward's green piercing eyes looking at me questioningly. _Edward is no Eric, Bella!_ I spoke to myself and brought myself back towards Edward. I felt my eyes close and our lips met again. I didn't notice anything apart from his lips touching mine. The shockwaves zoomed through my body in tenfold of what it was when our hands touched.

When he released, I already felt my lips aching for his touch again.

"Well, that was what I wanted to do…" Edward said out of breath.

"Hmm…" I sighed. I tried to collect my thoughts and to remember where I was.

I heard a door open behind us and Edward turned around.

"Can I help you with something, your…" It was the man that opened the door, but he was immediately interrupted by Edward. "No thank you, James," he told him angrily. I thought he was rather rude and I saw his eyes shooting daggers at James. I wondered what he had done wrong. My eyebrows shot up and the wheels in my head turned and turned, but couldn't find a good reason for this weird response.

"What was that about?" I asked when James had disappeared again. "Are you always that rude to other people?"

"I'm sorry, but I was frustrated my moment with you was disturbed…" I wasn't convinced by this answer, but decided to let it drop for the time being. I had been within his walls for just a few moments, but now he had shut me outside again. I knew I wouldn't be able to break through it at the moment. He needed to trust me better first. For a split second I wished I didn't kiss him, but realised I couldn't regret something so great.

"You should go home…" Edward mumbled.

"Why? What time is it?"

"Five PM. And I don't want Alice to be angry at me, because I brought you home too late."

"She's not my mum!"

"But she'll be dying to know everything that happened this afternoon…"

'Oh no…' I groaned and wondered how I was going to prepare myself for the Alice Inquisition.

"You'll be fine, just tell her how gorgeous I am," Edward told me playfully.

"Well, I'll be finished quite quick, won't I?"

Edward pouted. "I'm hurt…"

"You'll get over it…Will I see you again soon?" The moment I asked, I realised the risk. I would be disillusioned if he said no.

"If you want to, yes…but if I'm just not handsome enough, I'll just disappear crying in my bed and you won't have to see me again." I laughed, happy he didn't talk to me like he talked to James – I still wanted to know what that was about though.

"I'll drive you home, as long as you give me some directions how to get to yours."

"Well, I actually don't know where in the city I am, so you can forget about the directions..."

"We'll drive to where we had lunch, do you know it from there?"

"That won't be a problem, I think."

"Let's go then…" Edward took my hand and pulled me with him.

"Are you going to be okay with the elevator?" He asked concerned while we walked onto the hallway.

"No, but I'll have to deal with it, I'm not planning on getting down an enormous amount of stairs."

"Maybe I know a way to distract you," he said and he pushed me in the corner of the elevator. In the meantime he hit the button for the basement and the doors closed. Before I realised the elevator moved, Edward's lips were crushed on mine and my body went weak again. The feeling of him kissing me sent me to cloud number nine. Something about this man made me turn in to jelly every time he touched me. Making out with him made me melt to the floor, or that's what I felt.

Before I noticed the lift halted and the fresh wind welcomed us when the doors opened. A few people stepped in, looking at us in wonder. I took Edward's arm, grinning wickedly, and pulled him out of the cabin.

"We don't want to go up again, so let's get out," I whispered and squeezed his hand. We were in a large garage in the basement of the building.

"So where's your car? Seeing your apartment I'm at least expecting a Mercedes." I said it jokingly, but Edward replied very seriously.

"We can take that one, but I wanted to take the Volvo." I just gazed at him open mouthed.

"Did I say something wrong?" Edward asked insecure.

"No, I was only kidding and you're serious. I guess I wasn't expecting that." I shook my head to lose the fog in my brain.

"We'll just choose the Volvo okay? The other cars are a bit ostentatious."

I just followed Edward's lead. He opened the door of a silver Volvo and I smiled when he helped me in. He had manners! This guy must be the most perfect man on this planet. In a matter of seconds Edward came in on his side and started the car. We kept quiet till we were back at the restaurant we lunched.

"And where do we go from here?" I knew he was talking about how to get to my place, but the question had been in my thoughts too. He would probably have to go back to Solcelia soon and what would I do?

I pointed to a street at our right-hand. I directed him to Alice and my place almost fluently. Only one time I made him take the wrong street, so that we had to turn around.

"This is it," I murmured when we stopped in front of the dull grey building. I was almost ashamed after having seen Edward's beautiful penthouse. How would he react? But Edward seemed to have put his poker face on and just looked around examining.

"It's not really fancy or something, but Alice and I tried to make our place a bit cosier than this grey shit."

"I'd love to see your room," Edward said and he gave me an encouraging smile. I was not sure if I would love him to see my room actually. I scanned the room in my memory. Were there still dirty clothes on the floor? Did I throw the pizza away I half ate yesterday? I wasn't sure.

I sighed in defeat as I saw his pleading face. I couldn't resist that guy. I shrugged my shoulders and made a move to open the door. But Edward grasped my arm and told me to keep still. He got out and moved around the car fast. He opened the door, took my hand to help me out and kissed my knuckles softly when I stood next to him. I blushed at the gesture. He was such a gentleman!

Two stairs up, we stood by the front door. The moment I tried to put the key in the lock, the door opened and Alice stood there, beaming with enthusiasm. She must have been looking out the window, waiting for us to arrive. I groaned and really hoped she would keep herself in check for once.

"Hi Edward, hi Bells!" she squealed and opened the door better to let us in. I rolled my eyes at Edward and he squeezed my hand softly.

"How are you two? Did you have a good afternoon? I have some food ready, so if you are hungry, you can have a bite."

I didn't hear half of what Alice was saying and let my hand escape from Edward's. I almost ran to the door of my room and closed the door behind me. I searched about the whole room, picked up some panties from the floor, pulled the blankets straight, threw some clothes in the closet and looked around again. The room looked better already, although it was still a mess. Edward would have to deal with it, I didn't have personnel that cleaned up behind my ass.

When I came out of my room, I found Alice monologueing to Edward in the kitchen annex living room. Edward seemed to be interested in what she was saying, but his eyes travelled to the door I came from and lit up when he saw me standing there. I motioned with my head to make him visit my room.

"Excuse me. Alice, but do you mind if I interrupt you?" Edward asked very politely.

"And then I was thinking: 'No, red doesn't go with pink'. Oh, what?"

"I'm going to pay a visit to Bella's room if you don't mind."

"No, of course not," Alice said, off track. I gazed in amazement. No one ever caught Alice off guard. She was always very certain of herself and no one ever surprised her, she seemed to be psychic.

Edward moved over to where I was standing. A smile spread over his face and I melt for the zillionth time this day.

"Well, um, this is about it… it's not much, but it's enough." I babbled.

I almost pushed him in, because I felt Alice' eyes burning in my back. She wasn't going to see me showing Edward my room. I shut the door immediately and fell with my back against it.

"So you see, it's small, messy and dull."

"I like it. It's totally you."

"Are you saying I'm small, messy and dull?" I asked indignant.

"No, your room is cosy and sweet and just you."

"Sure," I said sarcastically and walked around Edward to fall on my bed. He sat next to me.

"Bella," and he forced me to look him in the eye, "you don't have to be ashamed of what you have or don't have. Me neither, although I forget that often too. And that my place is bigger and stuff is more expensive, doesn't mean I don't like you. I like you very much and wouldn't mind spending money on you, but I'm guessing you won't like that."

"You're absolutely right."

"I knew it. But I don't know if I'm going to listen." Edward said and looked around. I punched him and he yelped.

"What was that for?" But before I could answer, he kissed me and we fell backward kissing passionately. One hand grabbed his hair and tugged it slightly. My other hand travelled slowly over his neck that was smooth and soft. His hands ran over my back and slowly got beneath the hem of my shirt. He caressed the bare skin of my hip and back. It was like magic shooting through us and there was enough electric current to light the whole of Phoenix. But then I realised what he was doing and I stilled. Edward felt it and let loose of my lips.

"Are you okay?" he asked and his hands got out of my clothes to my face.

"Um… yes… I mean, no." I felt tears coming up. I hated that my eyes had the threshold of responding at about zero. No emotional event where I didn't cry. "Look, I'm a rather inexperienced. I just panicked I guess when I felt you… I'm so sorry…"

"There's nothing to be sorry for. If you're not ready, I'm not ready either! Although you do turn me on…" He added the last part blushing.

Oh my… I couldn't believe this. The most gorgeous man on this planet was turned on by me! There was no way I was going to forget this moment. I giggled and wrapped my arms around Edward.

"I have to leave," Edward whispered in my ear after lying a few minutes in my arms. I pulled backwards and pouted my lower lip.

"I'm sorry, but I promised my parents to call tonight, it's quite difficult to talk with the large time difference."

"It's okay, I'll lead you out then."

"Do you want to meet for dinner tomorrow?" Edward seemed nervous now, it was quite cute.

"Of course I do. I would love to see you again tomorrow."

"Then I'll pick you up at seven, be ready for a wonderful night with EA Cullen."

"Isabella Marie Swan will stand on the porch." I said, saluting. He grinned, kissed me softly and went to the door. He gave me another peck on my mouth and cheek, waved and left. I watched him until he rounded the corner and got out of sight. I sighed and closed the front door. How was it possible that I could fall in love with someone in only one afternoon? I was totally head over heels, I knew it. There was no way to fight it, although I wanted it. I'd always wanted to be independent. But I already was dependent of Edward. I was already feeling the loss while I stood there alone in the door opening.

My thoughts were interrupted by Alice who pulled my arm harshly and pushed me on a chair in the kitchen.

"You'd better tell me everything! Don't leave anything out or I'll slaughter you."

I honestly got terrified by that threat. I guessed a murderer looked like Alice at that moment before killing someone.

"Do you have any idea how scary you look?"

"Nope, but you've got to spill the beans!"

"Well, Edward and I finished lunch. We should pay you back, by the way." Alice interrupted.

"Oh no, you shouldn't this was my present!"

"Well, whatever. We went to the roof of the building he lives in. It was beautiful and we had a good time, actually. I can't believe I'm saying this but thank you for leaving. You gave me a wonderful afternoon."

Alice just clapped her hands, smiled and then hugged me close to her. "I'm so happy for you! You totally deserve this."

"Well, who are you seeing, Alice? You said something like that, during lunch." She was doing this to me, I was going to do it to her.

But she was in for it and began to talk enthusiastically. "Well, I had a date this afternoon, with a guy I met in a bar last week. But it was just nothing. There were no sparks or fireworks. So I told him this wasn't going to work or something and he seemed a bit disappointed, but I think he agreed with me."

"Ah, that's too bad, I hope you'll meet your Prince Charming soon! Who wouldn't want a girl as great as you?"

Alice just murmured something and looked absent.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

'I just wondered if we were going to eat what I just made or if we're going to order a pizza and have girls-night."

'I think the pizza idea is great.'

Alice nodded and jumped for the phone.

~WTW~

**Leave a review! :) And see you next week!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Heya,**

**here we are again :) Thanks for the reviews, alerts and favs!**

**Again, no copyright infringement intended, I don't own anything, apart from Solcelia, that comes from my own imagination!**

**Edit: a very observant reviewer brought to my attention that Bella's age didn't fit with her being unable to drink. It's fixed now! **

**Chapter 3.**

The next day was normal. I went to my classes, did some laundry, tidied my room a bit and began to get nervous. Maybe Edward would already be tired of me or he was going to think I was not as nice as he thought yesterday. Yesterday had been like a dream and I was scared to wake up. I tried to concentrate on what I should study on Duchenne's disease, but although I had read the first line for about ten times, I had no idea what it said.

"Okay honey. Here's your fairy godmother who is going to turn you into a princess!" Alice came in jumping and ran for my closet. She started rummaging through the piles of shirts, pants and dresses.

"More like a hyperactive, evil pixie," I murmured under my breath.

"What?" she asked, without looking up from my clothes. "Hmm…"

"Nothing," I said and watched how she browsed the complete content of my closet.

"Ah, this is perfect!" She grabbed a deep blue blouse and black pants. "You're getting shoes from me, that's the only thing we've got the same size."

"Don't just sit there, get this on!" And she left. I changed clothes quietly, before Alice stormed back in with arms full of stuff.

"Sit," she commanded and pointed to my desk chair. I obeyed, afraid of the look she gave me. She picked up a large box and opened it. The world's largest make-up collection appeared. It probably wasn't, but in my eyes it was. The only make-up I ever applied was a hint of mascara, but I forgot that most of the days too.

"What are you going to do?" I gasped when she pulled out some tubes.

"I'm doing your make-up! Just some foundation, eye shadow, mascara. Now, sit still and keep your mouth shut."

I let Alice have her wicked way with me, because I knew it was a waste of energy to argue with her. In my stomach the butterflies were packing and I was feeling more nervous by the second. I wished this was all over and Edward and I were just having a great time. Then all this stress would be over and I didn't have to worry anymore.

"You look absolutely amazing!" Alice squealed and looked at the result of my face. "I'm so proud of myself!" I rolled my eyes. But when she took a mirror, I gasped in shock. The girl standing in front of me was beautiful. Her brown eyes were deep and accentuated by the eyeliner and mascara. The cream coloured skin matched perfectly with the blue of the blouse, which hugged her waist and breasts. I couldn't believe that was the shy and nondescript girl that I was.

"Oh, thank you Alice, you really did a wonderful job!" Alice beamed. I hugged her tight and tried to put as much thanks in it as I could.

"You're welcome," she whispered and let go. "Edward won't take his eyes off of you tonight, so you'd better take advantage of that."

I grinned and at that moment the doorbell rang. "That will be your Prince Charming," Alice said and put a small hand bag in my hands. "Everything you need is in it. Just promise me you'll have a great time."

"I will," I reassured Alice and went to the door. I opened it slowly and before me was the image of nothing less than a Greek god. Apart that all those Greek gods were always portrayed naked and Edward was wearing a white shirt with black jeans. He smiled when he saw me.

"See something you like?" I tried to joke, but I felt my voice tremble.

"Yes, you look absolutely stunning."

"You're not that bad either."

He took my hand and brought it to his lips. His kiss there made my whole body tingle.

"Are you ready to go?" There he came again with his panty-dropping crooked grin. This man would be the death of me, because I really wasn't ready for any sexual relationship apart from kissing.

"Yes, I am."

"Bye guys! Don't do anything I wouldn't!" Alice shouted and I cringed.

Edward took my hand and squeezed it softly. "Don't worry so much," he whispered and led me to another car than he brought me home in yesterday. I couldn't recognise a brand, but it seemed expensive. He opened the door and helped me in.

The restaurant he picked was not too big, a bit too expensive for my liking, but I would have to deal with that. We were led to a table in the back, without other diners looking at us.

Edward of course pulled my chair back to make me sit.

"Thank you, it's perfect," I whispered when he sat down opposite me.

"Everything for you, love," he said with glistening eyes. I did notice endearment, but decided not to call him out on it.

A girl came to our table, introducing herself as Katie. She asked what we would like to drink and handed menus.

"I'd like a coke please," I said softly and grabbed the menu to read it.

"For me just water. Still." His voice had a sort of authority in it that I couldn't place in the right box. It sounded 'natural', or at least for him.

"Do you want to tell me why you panicked yesterday?" Edward's eyes pierced into mine and I was completely lost of thoughts for a few moments.

"If you don't, please don't tell me." I thought about it for a second, but I felt that I could tell Edward, without him judging me or anything.

"No, I trust you. Firstly, we just met and I feel it was too early. But secondly, I don't have good experience with… that." I took a deep breath. "No, that's not true, because that would suggest I have slept with someone, which I have not. When I was in high school, I had a boyfriend. We'd been going out for years and when we were a senior we thought we should have sex. We were this age, we were seniors, it seemed like it was the proper thing to happen. That was just bullshit, because you should have sex when you're ready for it, not because it was the customary thing to do. But I was young, naïve and easy to affect. Anyways, there was this night, Eric's parents were not at home. At the start it all seemed like a good idea, but when we both were naked, I just freaked out. I ran from the bed, grabbed my clothes along, to the bathroom. I changed and then fled home, with Eric running after me. I didn't sleep that night. I felt ashamed; I was scared and didn't know what to do. The next day, I knew I had to talk to Eric and apologize. It wasn't necessary. When I was having breakfast, I got a text message in which he broke up with me. He never talked with me after that, but did spread some rumours about me being a bad lay or something. Two days later he was dating another girl."

I hadn't noticed that a few tears had escaped from the confines of my eyes during the story. Edward had taken my hand that was on table and wiped with his other hand some tears from my face.

"It's okay, Bella. If I ever meet that Eric, he won't like it," Edward said through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry I'm bothering you with this story. I'm not usually this emotional." I sniffed and wiped some moisture from my cheeks.

"No, _I'm _sorry. This must have been horrible, but I'm glad that you trust me enough to tell me this. Listen, I won't ever deliberately hurt you and if I do, please tell me and I'll do my best to fix it!"

I smiled weakly through my tears. This boy was the best that happened in years. Since the Eric-incident, I had been much of a loner. Quiet, only doing schoolwork and not very social, as no one had wanted to talk to me anymore. College had been better, but apart from Alice I didn't really have friends. Edward had changed all of this, although I was still determined to become a great doctor. I always helped other people before thinking about myself. It already showed when my mother wasn't able to be a mother and I had taken over.

"Thank you." I whispered softly and squeezed Edward's hand lightly.

"What for?" he asked with that amazing crooked smile that made my knees weak.

"For listening and reacting just how you should."

"My pleasure."

At that moment Katie came back with our drinks.

"Have you decided?"

Edward looked at me and I nodded.

"May I have the mushroom ravioli please?" I asked, picking what was first on the list.

"I'll have the salmon salad."

Katie disappeared again and we watched each other in silence.

"Are you going to tell me why you tend to build a wall around you when I ask you something personal?"

Edward looked off guard. Deep in thought he answered: "I have had some troubles with my privacy and that made that I shut down."

"I won't ask you personal questions now in the restaurant, but I will soon when we have some alone time." He seemed happy with that answer.

"So how is Solcelia? I have never heard of it, so you'd better tell me everything."

"Solcelia is an island in the Adriatic Sea between Italy and Croatia. It used to be a British colony, that's why the official language is English. Our second language is Italian though and most people speak a bit Croatian too. It is a democratic monarchy. With parliament and such. The King is head of the government, but he is not really involved in all the politics. The climate is lovely. Lots of sun, not that much rain, but just enough for the wine to be perfect."

"Oh wine, huh? Why have I never heard of the great wine of Solcelia?"

"Because we, Solcelians, like to keep to ourselves and the wine isn't sold out of country."

"You're keeping what is best to yourself…" I pouted, but Edward knew I wasn't being serious.

"Of course we do! Why not?"

"Well, I should visit Solcelia soon then, to taste you exquisite wines."

"Yes you should…" Edward seemed lost again and there was the wall again. "You seem not too opposed on underage drinking." He remarked, steering away from Solcelia.

"Edward, how old do you think I am? I'm not underage anymore…"

A faint blush appeared on his cheeks. "I'm.. ah, sorry," he stammered. "I've never been a very good judge of age."

"It's okay, don't get your panties in a twist," I smiled.

"Well, in Solcelia, drinking age is sixteen, so that won't be a problem either."

"You Europeans have weird rules…"

"You Americans drink, also when you're not allowed to. If you pull the boundary lower, then they will not be attempted to drink illegally and that's a better option than holding back."

"That's a diplomatic answer," I grin and take a sip of my drink. But where I thought I had complimented him, Edward looks far away again.

"Where are you? It's certainly not here!"

"Nothing, my thoughts were engaged elsewhere for just a second." He laughed his crooked smile. I swooned in my chair. The combination of his appearance and the lovely sound of his English was an incredible experience.

"Why did you want to become a doctor?"

"I've always been someone to care for others instead of myself. My mum was always a bit juvenile, I learned to cook when I was ten. After graduation I travelled to Africa for the holidays, working for charity organisations. That's when I discovered I really wanted to cure these children with malaria. I didn't want to play with them anymore, but really get them out of their suffering. I had already gotten in for pre-med, but that moment was really the point that I realised that that was what I wanted to do with my life."

"You had a great time there." It was not a question, it was a statement. "I can see it in your eyes."

I smiled at the memories. Yes, I had a great time, despite all the horrors I'd seen. I had seen children die in my arms, but I had also seen kids that got healthy again and that played outside.

Dinner went by fast and I had a great time. I got to know a bit more about Edward's interests. He played the piano, but loved to read as well. He was vague about what he wanted to become, but muttered something about taking over his father's company.

We lingered a bit at my front door. I didn't want to say goodbye, because then this whole fairytale would be over. Although I was sure we would see each other soon, leaving seemed like a nightmare to me now.

"I had a great night," I whispered.

"Me too." Edward pulled me to him and kissed me. "Can I come around some time tomorrow?"

"You can always come around."

"Bye." And after a last kiss, he turned around, walked to his car and looked up at me again. "Sweet dreams." And with that he drove away, leaving me looking at the place from where he had disappeared. I stood numb for a minute, before I opened the door and got in. The moment I closed the door, Alice jumped in and squealed.

"And? And? And?"

"It was nice." I blushed.

"Yes, of course it was," Alice said, looking a bit angry. "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?"

"Nope," I said and grinned. Alice just shot daggers at me and then left for her room. I looked at the clock of the microwave and saw that it was 11.30 pm. I decided it was time for bed, as I had class tomorrow as well.

In bed I played the whole night again. With that I fell asleep peacefully.

~WTW~

The next day I had cutting laboratory and after analysing a heart completely from each angle, I was exhausted and glad to come home.

"Bells?" Alice called as soon as I came home and took off my coat.

"Yes, what's up?"

"I uhm… got to show you something…"

Alice seemed hesitant and I knew Alice good enough to know this was totally anomalous. Deep within me, something grew I wasn't going to like what Alice wanted to share with me.

I found Alice in her room with a computer on her lap. She eyed her screen with a concerned look. Something was definitely wrong.

"What's the matter Ali?"

"Well, I was just surfing on the Internet and then I thought let's google Solcelia. I found…" Alice dropped silent and just motioned me to look for myself.

**I hope to update next week again, but things are getting hectic, so I'm gonna try! And tell me what you think, it makes me write faster ;)**

**love, Liss**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone,**

**I'm really really sorry for not updating :( Everyone who sticked by: I'm so, so, so thankful! I've had quite a rough time: several people diagnosed with cancer around me. But it's looking good at the moment, so I'm really grateful for that. **

**Anyways, thank you if you still wanna read! **

**So, a few disclaimers: I don't own anything twilight. No copyright infringement is intended. Nor do I own Kane or their lyrics. Do check out this great band! They're Dutch, but really good! **

**I do own Solcelia, it's completely my own creation. It made so much more possible for me to think up a new country. **

**So enjoy this next chapter, some of my reviewers were dangerously close :)**

**Chapter 4**

_Damn those eyes,  
They keep me torn inside.  
She runs like a river through me,  
Always you._

_Eyes don't lie, words may try._  
_She comes like a mystery, flows through me,_  
_And I swear it's true,_  
_Always you..._

_Damn those eyes - Kane_

First thing I saw on the web page was a huge picture of Edward, looking inhumanly handsome in a tuxedo, with a beautiful strawberry blonde woman to his side. Then I noticed the rest of the website. It was the site of a tabloid. I could only gasp for breath when I saw the header. I almost heard my heart shatter into a thousand pieces in my chest.

'_**Prince Edward still with the same girl?!'**_

Alice showed me the story, which consisted of more pictures. Each one was of him, escorting yet another girl. All with legs up to their armpits, perfect faces and their hair shining. There were also photographs of Edward looking absolutely wasted in dark night clubs and smoking pot with a couple of guys.

"Alice?" I just wanted Alice to tell me this was all nonsense and that this was just a joke by one of Edward's friends or something. Edward could not be a prince and I really didn't want to know who those girls were. Besides, this wasn't the Edward I knew. The one I knew didn't drink excessively and I couldn't imagine him doing anything illegal.

But I knew he could be. He had barely told me anything about himself, had loads of money and personnel that ran around for him. That girl was probably the princess of some other country he was arranged to marry. What was he doing here with me? My insides turned into ice. I was just some distraction for a while. A little holiday fling.

"Bella, honey? I'm sure there is some explanation. Edward must have had a reason for not telling you. And those pictures don't have to mean anything. He's not the person to cheat on anyone and I'm sure he wouldn't do such thing to you." Alice embraced me and her arm felt warm against my cold and rigid body.

"Yes, of course. He can do anything without having trouble with it. He thought: 'Oh, Bella, just a naïve little girl, I can screw around with, while I'm here.' I'm just a distraction…"

"Have you…?"

"No, of course not!" I said indignant.

"Okay. But Bella, I'm sure that Edward has never had that intention. You know, to hurt you… I'm by the way sure that for everything he does he has to take full responsibility. I don't think he can do anything without being reprimanded… He's a prince for God's sake! Why would he do something that gets him in trouble?"

"Alice, look at those pictures and read the story. He apparently is the prince Harry of Solcelia. That we don't see the photos in which he is naked, doesn't mean they're not existent." I felt tears flowing down my cheeks, but I didn't bother wiping them away. "Ali, I thought I met someone who was truthful and honest. Yes, he had some problems opening up and I understand why now, because he was pretending to be someone he was not." I got up and walked away.

"He was only…" I didn't hear the remainder of her sentence, because I was already in my own room and I didn't plan on leaving it anytime soon.

~WTW~

"I figure you found out, huh?" He whispered. I just stayed put, facing my pillow. Alice must have let him in. I heard his soft footsteps on the carpet, resounding in the otherwise quiet room.

"I'm so sorry for not telling you. I was actually going to tell you now." _Yeah right, he could easily say that now._

"I know what you're thinking, but you have to believe me I was going to tell you, because I have to leave. I'm called home. Our prime-minister has been killed in a car accident and my country needs me." He took a deep breath. "Bella, in the past few days, I have found that I truly like you and if I didn't have to leave I would have done anything to get to know you better." He sighed. "If you hadn't found out I was the crown-prince of Solcelia, I wouldn't have told you very soon, I have to admit. I, _for once_, wanted to be a normal person. Not be the centre of attention and I would be treated like any other human being. This has never been possible in Solcelia. I was always the crown-prince, never 'just Edward'. I have done a lot of things wrong the previous years, but I hope to think you changed me. I hope we can stay in contact and that I can tell you everything about me, my family and my country soon. There is a lot you don't know yet. I will leave a card with my phone number on your desk."

I felt and heard him approach and then he kissed my hair. "Take care." Goosebumps appeared all over my body again, which made me even angrier than I had been. Angry because he could still affect me this much, while I didn't want him to.

With that goodbye he silently retreated and left. And all I did was cry. I couldn't say anything or call him back. My throat was incapable of producing sounds. If I had been able to, I wouldn't have known what to say, so there was no real difference.

The soft thud of the front door broke my heart again.

Two seconds later Alice knocked on the door and entered without waiting for an answer. "Are you okay?"

I didn't reply and looked in the darkness of my pillow. It was completely wet by the tears that kept flooding from my eyes.

"You know you can always talk to me, right?"

And Alice left too. I didn't deserve such a good friend.

~WTW~

That I didn't deserve her, showed in the next few weeks. I barely talked to her. I only did my studying, ate and helped Alice with the housekeeping. I was a zombie. I lived, but wasn't there. The biggest thing I had done was burning the business card he had left on my desk. There was no way I would contact him.

I had never thought one man could change me this much. In just a few days. This could not be healthy. It was as if Edward had crept in every gene of my DNA and my body needed him. It longed for him. I wasn't whole anymore without him.

I knew Alice was worried about my lifeless state. I saw the looks she shot at me and the way she treated me. She approached me with so much care and didn't react when I ignored the rest of the world. But she made sure there was always enough food in the fridge, left bars of chocolate on my desk and I often found a new fragrance of some expensive brand in the bathroom with a note 'for Bella' stuck to it.

After a few weeks I started to talk to Alice again. The conversations were about television programmes and college. No heavy or difficult subjects, just close to the surface. Alice didn't try to bring the subject to Edward, for which I appreciated her. I saw how Alice lit up when I first talked to her again. She was truly the best friend I could imagine myself. And I had been horrible to her.

One evening, two months later, we were together watching American Idol with lots of popcorn and cocktails Alice made. I was getting a little tipsy as I was not really used to holding any liquor. Alice had already fed me three drinks and it didn't look like this was coming to an end soon.

"Alice, what are you doing to me? I'm going to be a total disaster tomowow if you keep on making me dwink this." I already spoke with a bit of a double tongue.

"Whatever! It's Sunday tomorrow, we've got a whole day to wear out our hangover." Alice got even more energetic when she had had some alcohol. I wondered how on earth that was possible, but Alice always proved that everything I deemed impossible could be made true.

"Thank you, Ali. You've done so much for me over the last months. You've been there for me when I needed it. Thanks for being my friend after that ass let me down."

"He's not an ass and deep down you know it." I knew Alice was right, but I didn't want to give into it. _I wasn't going to give into it_.

"I just miss him so much." And before I knew it, I was crying on Alice's shoulder. "He became my everything in just three days. How is that even possible? It's like my world had shifted, he has become my centre." I sighed. "I can't believe he lied to me. I told him my biggest secret and he didn't even bother telling me who he really is."

"You don't know if he lied about everything."

"Alice, I know you want to make me feel good, but just… I have to move on and think about my studying and career. Can't you just make the world shift back again?"

"Bella…" Alice gave me a big hug and I felt her tears make my shirt wet. "I'm so sorry I can't. I really don't know how to help you and it's killing me. I'm so sorry…"

I'm never doing cocktails with Alice again, because I become one big blubbering mess. After a while my tears dried up on my cheeks and I slowly felt my eyelids dropping.

~WTW~

The next day I woke up and _everything_ hurt. Sleeping on the couch, with way too much alcohol in my system was the ultimate recipe for the mother of hangovers. I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water and Tylenol. Within half an hour I started to feel better, but my head still pounded and my joints felt like they could use some oiling. I went to get a shower and while I was washing my hair, I thought about something that had been going through my head for more than a week now. I decided to put it to action as I knew it would ghost through my head until I had done it. I threw on some easy clothes, let Alice know that I was gone and left our dorm.

I was going to say goodbye to Edward for once and for all.

The first part was relatively easy. Have lunch at our meeting place.

I made my way to the cute restaurant. The weather was not as beautiful as it was that day. But the flowers looked just as bright and I saw what I hadn't seen the previous time I visited. _'The Royal Diner'_. You have got to be kidding me…

I pushed the urge to sing 'Ironic', the song by Alanis Morissette aside and went in. It was less busy this time and I found a table in the back. At the table we met, there was now an older couple.

"Can I help you?" A lanky guy with lots of pimples came up to my table.

"Yes, I would like a diet coke and a mozzarella sandwich, please."

"It will be with you in a few moments, Miss." And he left.

I swallowed a couple of times. This was way harder than I thought it would be. _You can do this, Bella!_ I had to get over Edward and this was the only way. Or at least, that's what I hoped.

The pimple-boy came back and placed my lunch in front of me. After thanking him, he left.

I tried to enjoy the sandwich but it wasn't easy. My taste buds had turned off for some reason – _could have been yesterday's alcohol – _and my throat wouldn't allow the minced food to pass. I took a large gulp of soda to flush the bread down my oesophagus.

I thought back to that fateful day. The older couple at _the_ table were making the crossword in a newspaper. An exceptional ray of sunlight fell in just like that day and illuminated the table. I remembered Alice' black hair glistening in the light. The moment Edward sat on the chair next to me. His burning green eyes. The chills ran up and down my spine.

When I had managed to swallow about half the sandwich I gave up, drank the coke and asked for the receipt.

Now the more difficult part. I had to find my way back to the apartment building. I knew I got the first few turns right, because that was familiar territory, but when I entered the neighbourhood with huge buildings and towers every street seemed exactly the same. Just like every building seemed the same. I tried to ask people, but as I didn't know in which street I needed to be, I could only supply them with a description of the building. I got a lot of apologetic answers and even more weird looks.

After half an hour of wandering around, I had almost given up. I fell on a bench on the sideway, desperate. That was, until I looked up and saw that I had finally found the place I sought. I completely forgot any decorum and stomped in the air. I jumped up and ran across the street. When I walked in, I made a beeline for the elevators.

But I was halted halfway by the doorman.

"Excuse me, young lady, but may I ask where you are going?" The older man had a stern look on his face.

_Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck!_ _Think of something, Bella!_

"I'm a…" I stammered, but then I thought of a great story. "I'm so sorry, sir. I've lost a very precious earring of mine, an heirloom of my great-grandmother. I've been searching everywhere, but couldn't find it. Until I remembered, I came here with a friend around the time I lost it. I hoped to find it upstairs at the roof terrace…"

The strict look had disappeared mostly. "Okay, off you go, but if I hear you're causing trouble, I'll kick you out faster than you can say 'earring'."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I told him and the man smiled a bit. "Off you go," he muttered.

I ran to the elevators, before he could change his mind. I pressed the button for the roof and took a deep breath of air, just before the little box began moving. I felt my stomach turning and twisting, but managed to keep my lunch down in my stomach, where it belonged. When the doors opened, fresh air filled my nostrils and my insides returned to normal.

I stepped outside. The weather was by far not as nice as the last time I came here. The sky was packed with clouds and the wind a bit chilly. Yes, Phoenix does know of less beautiful days. The pillows on the various couches had been removed and the parasols were nowhere in sight.

I walked to the rail surrounding the terrace and stared at the city. My hangover was almost gone and my head had started to function as it should. I replayed my first visit to this place and immediately felt his hands on my hips, our legs touching when we sat and our hands gripping each other.

How had that man have made such an impact on me in just those few days? I barely knew him, but here I was, months later, still broken up about the guy. I knew I had to get myself over this, because I wouldn't be seeing Edward again in my life. He lived in Solcelia, being a prince and all, and I? I would be a great doctor in a not-too-big hospital, if it were up to me. Those two things did not go together, even if they had been in the same country.

My mother had always said there were more than enough fish in the sea and I had to start believing in it again. Edward had been the beautiful colourful fish that was the popular one of the clan. I had never been the girl to be in the front and be popular, anyways. I had to look for the nice and quiet guy, that may not be the one you notice first, but is just as good when gotten to know better.

I had wasted enough time mourning over Edward, I decided. It was time to focus on my studying again. Though, I had not stopped caring for college, I barely managed to pass my exams. And besides med school, I had to be a friend and daughter again. I hadn't told my parents about the Edward-incident, but they had of course noticed that something was wrong. When I dodged their questions about the subject, they had both stopped asking, but I heard the tone in their mails and calls.

I sighed and turned around. I took one last look at the beautiful place and said a silent goodbye. I would be a pity that I couldn't visit again. Only the last thing had to be conquered yet. The elevator. I took determined steps in its direction and waited for it to come. I took one last breath of air before getting in. The doors closed and so did my eyes. For one last time I admitted Edward Cullen in my life. My blood rushed, my heart pounded, my skin tingled and my stomach made a loop. But most importantly, my lips remembered the touch of his as if it were just minutes ago.

The elevator dinged, which brought me out of the heaven of the best kiss I ever had. I felt that my cheeks were wet by the tears that flooded from my eyes. I walked into the lobby and the doorman looked at me.

"You didn't find it?" he asked. I just shook my head and looked away quickly to escape his look of pity.

This would be the last time I cried over Prince Edward Cullen of Solcelia.

~WTW~

I met Alice at home and she noticed something was different, but didn't comment on it. We had Chinese take-out for dinner and relaxed together. In the next weeks I made sure to get my grades up, started to be a great friend again, made sure that my parents heard of me every once in a while and even tried dating. It was hardly a success as Alice made me go to blind dates with the biggest losers on campus, but I tried very hard – determined to forget Edward. I hadn't cried after that day in the elevator. Not about him, not about anything. Had my tears usually been easy to spill about nearly anything, my eyes were now dry. It was as if I was numb. I made myself ignore it and tried to be busy at all times, so that I could not think about things I didn't want to think about.

The rest of the year had passed just as any other year had. When college year came to an end, I finally admitted to myself that I had been stupid in ignoring what was happening in my head. But I also knew I would not do it any another way in the future…

**Well, this hasn't been an easy chapter for me to write, but Bella just seemed to go her own way after a while. This Bella may come across as somewhat quiet and with low self-esteem, but she is stronger than she thinks of herself. **

**Anyway, thank you for reading! And please let me know what you think!**

**love, Liss**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hellohello,**

**it took some, Iknow, I know! My deepest apologies. In the mean while I had to make my psychiatry exam... Tomorrow I'll know if I passed, please keep your fingers crossed! And 2 weeks ago our/my queen Beatrix told that she's be abdicating the throne, so we'll get a king for the first time in a century. I'll miss her I think, because she was a remarkable woman, who has been a woman to our nation. But she has had a lot on her plate lately, so I wish her a quiet retirement.**

**And on, with some other royals :) Our beloved couple is out of each other? Will they get to see each other again? Or is there no chance of a reunion?**

**Again I don't own anything, no copyright infringement is intended. Do have a listen at Don't give up the fight, by Racoon. It's such a beautiful song. www. / watch?v=PnaOOgMv_WY**

**Chapter 5**

_Please don't give up the fight_

_For no reason, but your own_

_I never said that the fight would be easy_

_Because it won't_

_Don't give up the fight - Racoon_

"Bella?" Alice came to me the moment I stepped over the porch. I had just finished my last exam and I had a really good feeling about it. It was time for summer break, finally. I would be going back to Forks to spend it at Charlie's, working a bit at the hospital to gain experience and really enjoy doing nothing. "Put this on! We're leaving in fifteen minutes." Alice told me, looking disapprovingly at my outfit. As I only had an exam today I had just thrown on jeans and an old t-shirt this morning.

"What? Where to?" But Alice just pushed me into my room, leaving me with only clothes in my hands, looking at the closed door. What?

It was a loose, very – I mean very – pink top with dark skinny jeans and the highest heel I'd ever worn. As I didn't wear heels ever, that wasn't too big of a surprise though. The shoes I was holding probably didn't have that big a heel, but to me they were huge.

I knew Alice would dress me herself if I didn't do it myself, so I put the clothes on reluctantly. I'd found out after what she was planning.

"You look great," Alice squealed as I came out of my room. "Here are your bags. The cab should be here by now."

She gave me a black leather handbag and a very heavy Louis Vuitton trolley.

"Where are we going, Alice?" I tried to balance myself on those heels and wobbled towards the front door.

"We're going on a summer holiday!" Alice started singing some weird summer song, not quite on key.

"That's not an answer, Ali! I know it's summer break, but I had planned to go to Charlie." Alice was driving me up the wall.

"Just trust me please, I know you planned to go to Charlie, but you need to go on a real holiday. If someone deserves it, it's you." After a tiring year and a long exam, I did not have the courage to resist Alice' puppy eyes. So I just followed Alice into a cab that she sent to the airport.

"Remind me to kill you when we reach our destination, wherever that may be on this planet."

"Oh, you'll have forgotten that by then."

I doubted that, but didn't respond. I didn't even want to think about where she planned to go or what her plan was. And to be quite honest. I would love to spend some time on a sunny beach, doing absolutely nothing besides drinking cocktails and reading a good book. I desperately hoped that was what Alice was planning. When we arrived at the departure hall of the airport, Alice paid the driver and pulled me out of the taxi.

"There's no point in fighting me!" she reminded me again and I just followed her lead almost falling over my own feet. Alice always made she got what she wanted. If it didn't go according to plan A, she always had at least plan B, C and D ready. I knew better than to try and fight her. And, I would never admit this to Alice, but I would really like a little vacation.

"We're already checked-in," Alice told me when she walked straight to customs.

Alice was her charming-self as she chattered with the officers while everything was checked, our bags labelled and we got through security. I just followed her silently, wondering where Alice was taking me. Edward would have probably… saved me from her. I blinked in surprise. It was the first time in ages that I thought about him. I had always pushed him back when he came up in my thoughts. I never allowed him to infiltrate the front of my mind.

"Ah, gate thirteen b. That way," Alice motioned and pulled me with her, before I could see what destination the plane at gate thirteen b had.

"Do you want a coffee?" Alice asked as we passed a Starbucks.

"Yes, sure." I actually really wanted to have one of those big chocolate muffins. A bit of chocolate would help me survive Alice. "I want a muffin too!"

Alice ordered and paid, I knew objecting wouldn't work.

"Now, we're getting to our plane. I took lots of magazines, so don't worry that you'll get bored."

"Alice, are you going to tell me where we're going or do I have to find out at the gate?"

Alice sighed deeply, realising I was going to find out in a bit anyway. "Well we have tickets to Rome."

I didn't trust the way she said that. There was more to this than met the eye. I shook the thought off, because Alice would certainly not tell anything else. The thought that bubbled up was dismissed by my defence mechanism.

"Rome? What's the point of going to Rome?" I asked and thought about the ancient city, the Collosseum and the Forum Romanum.

"It's a beautiful city, it has beautiful touristic attractions and you can shop pretty good," Alice replied.

"We could have done that at home too."

"Of course not. We need a change of climate and I think Rome will do us good. Besides, Italian women are all much smaller, so I might finally find something to wear in a normal store!"

"Rome has nice weather, Phoenix has nice weather. I don't see where you're trying to get."

"Rome!" Alice grinned and I sighed in defeat. I closed my eyes and made sure I was going to sleep in the plane. I didn't want a huge jetlag, because Alice would have even much more energy when we got in Rome.

~WTW~

"Bells, we're starting to descent in a few minutes. Wake up!" Alice stomped me and my hand flew to the place where she hit me. I was sure it would bruise. _Thanks a lot Alice._

"You're welcome."

I guess I said that out loud. I shouldn't think too much when not fully awake, you couldn't know for sure whether it popped out on accident.

I felt the plane descending and sat more straight up. I liked descending least of flying. It just felt… wrong. It was not like I was scared to death, but if I there was a possibility to skip it, I would be first in line.

I saw the sun rising quickly. The time difference wouldn't be too difficult to handle as I had slept through the night on the plane. I was as ready as I could be for Alice' plans.

I felt the wheels of the plane touch the earth and I let out a breath I didn't realise I had been holding. Safely back on steady ground again.

"Thank you for flying with us. We hope you had an enjoyable flight. Before leaving the plane, please check whether you're not forgetting any personal belongings. We wish you a great journey and hope you'll travel with us in the future. A good day." While the flight attendant sounded through the intercom, the plane taxied to the gate and I collected my bag from underneath the seat in front of me. Alice was practically jumping in her chair with excitement.

"Alice, is there something I should know?" I still didn't trust her intentions.

"Probably, but I'm not telling, so stop fidgeting."

"Alice?" I pinched her arm. "Tell me, what are you up to?"

"My lips are sealed," and Alice made a zip movement across her mouth.

I sighed in frustration and undid the seatbelt as the plane had halted at the gate. We got out of the plane, walked through customs and took our baggage from the carrousel.

"Let's have a look… where we…" Alice talked to herself. Her eyes scanned the various signs hanging everywhere.

"Grab a cab and get to whatever hotel you arranged?" I suggested.

"No, no…" A silence fell. "Oh right. There! Come with me, Bella."

Alice took my arm and pulled me with her. I almost tripped over her trolley, when she didn't go in the direction of the exit, but to another part of the airport. Now I really started to doubt Alice' intentions.

"Where are we heading?" I asked suspiciously.

"Our destination." I grumbled. Alice was driving me crazy.

We came at new check-in desks. I didn't recognise any of the names, so I figured they were smaller Italian companies.

"I thought we were going to Rome," I said as Alice seemed to be headed to one of the last desks in the row. I couldn't read the names yet, as it was still too far away.

"I didn't lie, did I?"

And then I saw the name of the company on the last desk. I had stopped walking before my brain registered the text. I knew it, I could have known it, I should have known it. It was too obvious. In fact, I had known all along, but had not committed to the idea. Alice dropped our passports and flight details on the desk and looked at me.

"Solcelian airlines?" It was the only thing I could stammer. My brains only produced a hazy kind of fog.

"Bella, he's your one! I'll drag you there, whatever happens. You're not going to fight me on this. I'll get you there, no matter what!"

"Alice, I can't face him! What were you thinking? And how did you actually planning on getting to speak with him? Just walk to the bloody palace and ask for the freaking crown-prince? Now then I wish you lots of fucking luck, but I'm not gonna be a player in this game!" Even though I had unconsciously known, I was fuming mad with Alice for planning this behind my back and thinking I would be okay with it.

The girl behind the desk was looking at us weirdly when I started talking about palaces and crown-princes. Her eyebrows had shot up and her eyes shot from me to Alice and back again.

"We need our boarding passes, thank you! This is our luggage," Alice ordered bossily at the girl and took me to the side.

"Bella, I've seen you drift away. You may act like you're okay, but you're not. Deep down you're just _not_ okay! You need to talk to him, whether it's about a continuation of your relationship or your break-up. Either way, you need to close this chapter."

I knew I was going to surrender. I wanted to see him, hear him, smell him, touch him. And taste him. All of my senses wanted to meet him again. My brain shouted that it was irrational and that my hopes would be shattered. But I had already lost him, it couldn't get much worse, was what the other voice in my head shouted.

I had given into Alice' ridiculous plan. Alice saw it in my change of expression and let out a soft shriek. She took the boarding passes, gave the girl a smile and pulled me and the carry-on baggage with her.

We walked to a much smaller plane that was going to take us to Solcelia. It could fit about fifty people and was filled for about 75 percent when the pilot announced we were leaving.

The flight was a nightmare. It had nothing to do with the skills of the pilot or the conditions in which we flew, but all to do with my growing nerves. I had no idea how Alice wanted to get in contact with Edward. I knew for certain that barging into the palace was impossible and I guessed they wouldn't let us in, even if we'd thought of the best excuses known to man.

Alice next to me, however, was sitting there, very happy with herself. She was even humming. Just as I was about the slap her, we started our descent and I held on tight to the elbow-rest.

As we landed safely, I sighed of relief, glad that I wasn't going to have to live through another descent in the near future.

"Welcome to Solcelia. The local time is 11.10 am. The temperature outside is 25 degrees Celsius. On behalf of the Solcelian government and population I wish you a very pleasant stay in lovely country. Please check whether you have got all your belongings with you and we, of Solcelian Airlines, hope you'll consider flying with us again. Thank you."

Alice was the first person standing and pulled me with her. "I'm so excited and just can't hide it!" she sang. What was it with her and the most ridiculous songs in the history of music?

"Alice, if you don't quit being annoying this moment, I'm taking the first flight back," I threatened.

"Oh no, you don't. You don't want to do another descent in a long time."

_How did she notice? I didn't tell her. _

"Your face, honey. You looked like you were going to faint." Aaaand, apparently I can't keep my thoughts to myself either when I'm fully awake.

Customs were not a problem as we had enough knowledge of English. Apparently Solcelians didn't want people in their country who couldn't speak one of the official languages. I did see the use of it for normal day life, but wondered if it was not something that kept people from coming to Solcelia.

We got a taxi right on the doorstep. The driver was very friendly and wondered what two American girls were doing in Solcelia.

"A friend of us lives here and told us a lot about your lovely nation, so we decided to visit Solcelia." Alice gave her answer before I could think of a suitable lie. I looked at her.

"It's the truth," she mimed. "So, what should definitely go and see?" she asked, before the man could notice our silent conversation.

"You definitely have to visit the royal palace" – Alice gave me a little push and I paled – "You can't go in of course," – I gave my best friend a glare – "but you can see it through the gates and when the weather is good, you can occasionally see someone of the royal family in the gardens." Alice was almost bouncing on the spot when he said that last bit. I wondered how the taxi driver couldn't see any of this in his rear view mirror.

"And you have to go see the cathedral. It was built in the twelfth century and it really is a magnificent building. A contains a lot of Solcelian history. By the way, the hotel I'm dropping you off at, is right around the corner from the palace, so it shouldn't be too difficult to go and see that one…"

I groaned. I guessed Alice had something to do with that. She would sleep in a tent if the camp site was in the palace yard. And Alice is not one for camping…

"Thank you very much for the ride and the information," Alice said when we arrived at the hotel. It was far from a tent. The red carpet, the doormen and the face of the hotel told me this was expensive. I hated it that Alice had again done way too much for me and I wouldn't be able to pay it back. Not that she accepted a repayment.

When I exited the car, the staff of the hotel had already collected our luggage from the trunk. As I had no idea what to do, I just followed Alice, who walked confidently to the desk in the lobby.

"Hello, we have a reservation under Brandon," she said cheerfully and the receptionist gave her a key and a few papers.

"Enjoy your stay."

"Come on, B. Let's get you settled in and then we're gonna look for your Prince Charming.'

Our room, I mean, suite, was huge and with huge, I mean enormous, massive. We had a living room, two bedrooms, a large bathroom and a balcony with hot tub. My mouth fell open as I a saw all the luxury. I had never seen so much expensive things in one room.

"Alice, this is way too much," I gasped.

"It's nothing, just accept it, there's not much else you can do." Alice was in one of the bedrooms, unpacking my luggage. The only way I could see that was by the colour of the bag, because the clothes were not mine. Or at least not until yesterday around three o'clock. "Besides, everything is much cheaper here!" I sighed softly and 'accepted' it. There was nothing I was going to do about it.

"Change into this. That prince of yours will run for his white horse and shining armour immediately." She gave me a summer dress that I had not known was mine.

"Alice, why did I change into those uncomfortable shoes and clothes?"

"You had to look good on our flight! There's never a reason to dress casual. And now you're going to look fabulous for going out." Then she ran to her own bags, threw clothes everywhere and changed into a trigging, long shirt and jacket.

"Oh god! I need to do something with your hair! It's completely ruined." Alice ran to me with hairspray and make-up. Fifteen minutes later I looked like I'd never slept a night in an uncomfortable air plane seat.

"Ali, I don't think I can do this," I said when a new wave of nerves flowed through my veins. "How are we going to get in? What do I do if I see him?"

"Everything is going to be just fine. I'm psychic and I have a good feeling about it." I rolled my eyes on Alice' psychic comment. I knew she didn't believe it herself, although I always accused her of being psychic.

"Look happy, do you want something to drink?" Alice went to the mini-bar and brought a bottle of wine with her.

"Oh no, then I'll really mess up everything I do."

"Well, I totally need some alcohol," Alice said and drank some of the red fluid straight from the bottle. "Let's go to your future home!"

**So, here we are. Alice is something else, isn't she? Edward'll be back next chapter, I promise!**

**love, Liss**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello!**

**Here we are again! I just passed my exam this afternoon, so I was in a good mood and quickly edited Chapter 6 ready for posting :) Thank you to the people who reviewed or added WTW to their alerts or favs. And also a very warm welcome to the readers who joined us after reading the teaser on Fictionators! **

**Anyways, on with the story! I still don't own anything, no copyright infringement intended. Solcelia however is completely mine!**

**Love, Liss**

**Chapter 6**

I sighed. Future home, my ass. I knew Alice liked fairy tales, but it was time for her to come back to earth and face reality. If we even managed to get to see Edward, he probably wouldn't want anything to do with me anymore. I knew Alice believed what we had was really something out of ordinary, but I couldn't believe something like that would come to someone like me. Furthermore, if that magazine article was any indication, he'd have gone through several girls already.

"Put these on," she threw me some shoes. I examined them. The heels were high, but not as high as the previous ones Alice made me wear. I could probably handle these. As long as we didn't walk for miles.

We stepped in the elevator – stomach turn – and got out in the lobby. The front doors were opened for us.

"Have a good day Miss Brandon and Miss Swan."

I had no idea there were places like this, where you were greeted by name and the doors were opened for you. Or at least, not in public places.

"The palace is just down the road, so prepare yourself to see His Royal Highness in a few minutes." _Yeah right, Alice…_

We walked on the sideway of a busy road. Despite the cars, taxis, busses and vans, the road had something statuesque. The waving trees in the wind, the cobblestones in perfect rows, the flower beds in all colours of the rainbow, everything showed this was the road to the palace, a royal driveway. And as I was thinking this, high iron gates appeared left of us. I gasped. Behind the gates was a large garden, but more importantly a huge palace. It gave me the idea of Versailles, not that I had seen Versailles in real life, but from the pictures. That brought me to think about wigs and very large dresses. I imagined Edward with a wig and almost burst out laughing from the idea alone.

Alice pushed a button on a small brick wall next to the gates.

"They have a doorbell?" I giggled, caused by the nerves, rather than thinking it was really funny.

Two men came walking towards us from behind the gates. Both uniformed and wearing sunglasses to protect against the bright light.

"What can we do for you, misses?"

That was when I recognised one of the men. "James?" I stammered. I shouldn't have been too surprised to see him, but my nerves were taking over my body. This was getting more real with the second. And I didn't like it at all.

"Isabella," he said shortly. The other man looked from James to me and back and then at Alice, wondering what connection he was missing.

"We're coming to see Prince Edward," my partner in crime said confidently and stepped closer. She had shoved her sunglasses up in her hair and batted her lashes. Could she have been any more obvious?

"Are you expected?" the other officer said.

"No, not exactly, but…" Alice tried to say.

"Then you'll have to try and make an appointment and come back when you've succeeded in doing that." I already hated his guts without knowing his name.

"But he knows us and we need to tell him something," Alice said persistent.

"Yeah, that's what they all say. How am I going to believe that?"

"Bella and James know each other. And guess who went to The States with Prince Edward a few months ago?'

"That doesn't make any difference, miss. You'll have to come with something plausible or just make an appointment." His tone already told me that 'making an appointment' was not an act that was going to be successful.

"Maybe you should ask the person in question yourself. Prince Edward is right behind you," Alice commented.

My eyes opened wide and I sucked in a deep breath. The men turned round and about ten meters down the path Edward was standing with a tall man with curly blonde hair.

I caught Edward's gaze. His deep green eyes locked with mine, full of unbelief and pain. It was the most intense eye contact I had ever had, despite the distance. We must have been standing there for minutes before Edward said: "Open the gate and let these ladies in."

James and the other guy seemed a bit disappointed, but had no option but to obey. The heavy gates opened slowly and Alice had to pull me with her as I was petrified on the spot. We ended about two meters from Edward.

"Bella," he whispered, just loud enough for me to hear. And with that I felt him hug me. All my senses became hyperactive. I heard his breaths and sobs. I smelled his great odour, his aftershave and his natural scent. I felt the fabric of his shirt against my arms, hugging me. I had closed my eyes, but I felt a few tears leaking down my cheeks.

And then I tasted the best kiss I had ever had. And I kissed him like I had never kissed anyone. We almost ate each other. My whole body started to tingle from the electric current flowing through my nerves. If you got kisses like this from being apart for more than half a year, I'd do it more often. _Okay, maybe not…_

When my air was used up, I had to break the connection. I opened my eyes and saw that Edward's face was glistening of the tears, his eyes were red and puffy and so were his lips. I imagined my appearance being quite the same.

_Fuck, what did do?_ I see the guy who ruined me for the past months back again and I start sucking his face the minute I see him?

"Edward…" I whispered and wiped off the tears of my face.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so terribly sorry."

"Edward…"

"Bella, I really am." His voice was full of distress and his face showed nothing less than sheer panic.

I tried to ease him a bit. "Edward, it's okay, but we do need to talk. But can that wait for just a bit?"

"Eddie, are you going to introduce me?" I heard a male voice that I connected to the tall blonde guy. Lost in our own world, I had forgotten we had an audience. I felt my cheeks turn scarlet. I heard Edward groan and mutter: "Don't call me that…" He wiped his face another time and pulled out of our hug.

"Bella, Alice, this is Jasper Whitlock, duke of Soce, and my best friend. Jasper, this is Isabella Swan and Alice Brandon."

"Nice to meet you." As Alice and Jasper shook hands, I saw the sparks flying. I gave Edward a prod and made him look at the two of them. Then he smiled the crooked smile I had missed the most. With that I felt my legs turn into jelly. I knew that I could overcome our problems, because what we had was like magic. Something out of a fairy tale, something that was worth fighting for. We had a lot to overcome and Edward had a lot to explain, that was for sure. But I couldn't help but hope. Hope that he felt the same. Hope that he could be trusted.

"Shall I show you my humble home?"

"Humble, yeah, right." I mocked. "This is by far largest house I've ever seen."

Edward placed his hand on the small of my back and led me towards the palace. If you had told me a year ago, I would once be entering a palace together with a prince, who I'd just kissed senseless, I wouldn't have believed it. The large wooden front doors flew open as we climbed up the steps.

"Welcome to my crib." Edward announced and I grinned while scanning the large entrance hall. It looked a lot like the hall from the 'Sound of Music', which I saw countless times when I was young. The puppet play part was my favourite. I spent many holidays trying to re-enact it with my mum being Maria and me trying to be all the seven Von Trapp kids on my own. I had made all the puppets and decors myself, it was now gathering dust in some closet at Renee's. Or she had probably thrown it away in one of her moves.

"What are you thinking?" I felt Edward's breath on my neck.

"That it looks like the 'Sound of Music'."

"The Sound of what?"

"You've never seen the 'Sound of Music'? If you've never seen it, something's gone wrong in your upbringing!"

"What did I do wrong?" I twirled around to see whose voice it was. I immediately recognised her from the picture in Edward's apartment back in Phoenix. Her honey brown hair, her kind heart-shaped face and her warm appearance: Edward's mum, the Queen of Solcelia.

"Oh crap," was all I could mutter.

"I would really like to know now," she said, smiling.

Although Edward gave me an encouraging squeeze I could only stammer: "Have him watch the 'Sound of Music', Your Majesty." I knew my face had turned the brightest shade of red by that time.

"Oh honey, relax! Call me Esme and tell me what you did to have made my son so unhappy from the moment he came back from the US!" _She knew?!_

After she spoke her last words, she came to me and took me into a warm embrace. "I won't eat you," she whispered and with that sentence my nerves fell away. I felt at ease with her and saw her as the mother I never had. Renee was a great person, but she was never a great mom. If you wanted to do the newest trend every week, you were with the right person. But if you wanted a mother who was home with tea when you came home from school…

"Mother, this is Isabella Swan. Bella, this is my mother, Esme Cullen, the Queen of Solcelia." Edward introduced us.

"Leave out the queen part and I can be a normal mother-in-law, if that's okay…" I smiled and hoped I still had a mother-in-law after our 'talk'. What if Edward did not want to try? What if he had already another girlfriend? What if…?

"By the way, maybe you should change Edward's knowledge on good movies." I grinned and decided Edward and I should have a film night, if...

"Thank you, Esme. The actual reason I'm here, is standing over there. This is my best friend, Alice Brandon. By being an evil pushy pixie, she got me here." Alice was standing a couple of meters away and was chatting Jasper's ears off, who was just grinning at her enthusiasm.

"Thank you, Alice. It's great to meet you. Hi Jasper. Hmm, you seem to have found each other…" And she gave me a wink, before she disappeared through one of the many doors along the walls.

"Jazz, why don't you show me around a bit?" Alice asked and pulled him in the direction we came from.

"I would love to," Jasper said and they were gone leaving us alone in the big foyer.

"Talk now or do you want a crib tour?" Edward asked insecurely.

"Show me your fridge, please!" I grinned. "Shall we talk after?"

"Sure, well… this is the large entrance hall. The double doors, there on the left, lead to the ballroom. The double doors on the right give way to the formal dining room. Those are only used for formal occasions. Behind the other doors there are hallways to other rooms, that have all to do with ruling the country. My dad's office is in that hallway." He pointed to one of the doors.

"Upstairs are the private rooms. Let's go up there, 'cause you won't find very interesting things here."

We walked up the broad stairway, turned right and got in a long hallway with doors on each side.

"The first rooms are those of Emmett and Rosalie. Emmett is two years my junior and he married Rosalie eight months ago. Want to meet Emmett? Rosalie's not in, she's an architect and works two days a week."

"Do you think…?" I was a bit scared, remembering the huge man in the picture.

"Bella, Emmett may look a bit intimidating, but he wouldn't hurt a fly. Just ignore his stupid jokes and he's the best brother you could wish for."

"If you insist…" I mumbled.

"We're not going in, if you don't want to!" Edward started to back off.

"No, let's go." I said, pulling the courage together. I had just met the Queen of Solcelia, I was not going to chicken out just because of some giant man. I would have to face him sooner or later anyway.

Edward smiled and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" A booming voice called from inside.

"Just wait for a couple of seconds, I'll talk to him first." Edward whispered and went in without closing the door.

"Ah, there's hooker that I ordered!" I heard Emmett say. All the courage I had mustered up, dropped down that instant.

"Thanks Em, but I wanted you to meet someone, but if you're not able to act as an adult…" Edward sounded angry.

"She's here? Bella?"

Why did everyone around here seem to know me? No one, apart from Alice, knew about the Edward-disaster – a name Alice had given the whole situation. I shuffled in and saw the large man with dark curly hair and a friendly face. With two giant leaps he was in front of me and gave me a bone-crushing hug.

"Sorry Bells, Edward and I joke around from time to time." I heard Edward grumble something, but couldn't make out what it was.

I instantly liked Emmett. His appearance had that of a teddy bear and a grizzly bear all at the same time. He was a brother you could trust and who would stand up for you.

"Well, it's great to meet you too. I've never met so many royals in such a short time." I grinned.

"Not that he as any of the manners that usually come with it." Edward said and ducked away just in time to avoid Emmett's punch.

"I'm the coolest royal ever!" Emmett said and fell on the couch. "Do you want a tour here or do you not wish to see my dirty socks?"

"Yeah, like there'd be any dirty socks laying around," Edward mocked the fact that there were probably a dozen people keeping everything clean around here.

"Let's go Edward. I don't think I'm ready for any dirty socks…" I said and took Edward's hand again.

"Nah, Rosie would have my head if I had them laying around… See you later, alligator!" Emmett called and we left.

"Told you, nothing to be afraid of in the person of Emmett. He doesn't get serious very often, but just tell him if he goes too far. He'll stop." Edward told me.

We had gotten back to the corridor and walked on.

"On the other side, we have my parents' rooms, but there's no one there at the moment, so it would be a bit rude to enter. The last rooms in this hallway are mine. Let's go in there?" His statement came out as a question.

"Unless it turns out to be a torturing dungeon, I'd like to," I joked, anxious to see where he spent lots of his time.

"Don't worry about that, those are in the basement," Edward grinned and opened the door. "Welcome to Prince Edward Cullen's sacred places…" I heard the sarcastic undertone in his voice.


End file.
